LaSalle Vipers

LaSalle Vipers
Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League
City	LaSalle, Ontario
Founded	1970
Conference	Western
Franchise history	1970-1986: Windsor Royals 1986-1995: Windsor Bulldogs 1995-2001: Tecumseh Bulldogs 2001-2008: Tecumseh Chiefs 2008-Pres: LaSalle Vipers
Head coach	John Nelson
General manager	Kevin McIntosh
Arena	Vollmer Culture and Recreation Complex
Team colors	Black, Olive, and White
Affiliate team(s)	Windsor Spitfires Belle River Canadiens
Sutherland Cups	2008

The LaSalle Vipers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.

History

The Tecumseh Chiefs originated as the newly-formed Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League's Windsor Royals. The Royals in 1986 were renamed the Bulldogs and moved up to Junior "B". The team was sold in 1995 and moved out of Windsor, Ontario into the Tecumseh area, and became known as the Chiefs.

Tecumseh Chiefs' Matt Rehman being presented the Sutherland Cup (2008)

In one the franchise's last games in the city of Windsor, the Bulldogs set a league record for futility by suffering the worst loss in Western Ontario Hockey League history. On January 20, 1995, the Leamington Flyers defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 30-3.

Tecumseh Chiefs

On February 20, 2008, the Chiefs remembered their former "rookie of the year" Mickey Renaud. Renaud, alumnus and captain of the Windsor Spitfires, died two days earlier after collapsing in his parents home in Tecumseh. After a memorial, the Chiefs announced that Renaud's number, 44, would be retired at the end of the season.

The 2007-08 season marked the Chiefs' best season since moving to Tecumseh. The Chiefs, members of the newly formed Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League became their first league regular season champions finishing first overall in their conference with 34 wins, 12 losses, and 2 losses in overtime.

After defeating the London Nationals to win their first Western Ontario crown since 1980, the Chiefs made it known to the press that they are considering a move to LaSalle, Ontario due to a lack of fan support.

The Chiefs entered the 2008 Sutherland Cup against the Thorold Blackhawks and the Elmira Sugar Kings. They finished the round robin in first place with 3 wins and 1 loss. They then faced the Sugar Kings in a best-of-seven series to determine the champion, defeating them in 4 straight games to win their first ever provincial title.

After 13 seasons in the town of Tecumseh and winning the 2008 Sutherland Cup Provincial Championship, the town of Tecumseh has announced that the franchise has elected not to return to their arena. The team is planning to relocate to LaSalle. This marks the third Greater Windsor Area location that the team has called home in 38 seasons.

On July 9, the ownership of the team held a press conference to enveil the LaSalle Vipers and their new logo. On September 10, the Vipers played their first game in LaSalle, losing 4-2 to the Leamington Flyers.

2009-10 Championship Season

After a bit of a rebuilding year in 2008-09 to readjust after moving, the LaSalle Vipers showed themselves to be one of the top teams in the GOJHL during the first half of 2009-10. A mid-season slump put the Vipers near the basement of the Western Conference, but by the end of the season the Vipers had come together and reached the 5th seed of the conference with 30 wins and just a few wins from the lead of the conference. In the Western quarter-final, the Vipers defeated the fourth seeded St. Marys Lincolns 4-games-to-1. In the semi-final, the Vipers drew third seed and rival Chatham Maroons. A hard fought battle occurred, with the Vipers winning 4-games-to-2. In an upset, the seventh seeded St. Thomas Stars defeated the first place London Nationals, setting up an unlikely final between the fifth and seventh seeds of the conference. The Vipers would defeat the Stars 4-games-to-2 to take their second Western Championship in three years. The Vipers then moved on to the Sutherland Cup round robin semi-final with the first seed of the Mid-Western Conference Brantford Eagles and the second seed of the Golden Horseshoe Conference Stoney Creek Warriors. All three teams had appeared in the Sutherland Cup finals in the previous two seasons. LaSalle took the round robin with a 3-1 record, second was Brantford with a 2-2 record, and third was Stoney Creek, 1-3 and eliminated. The final was the battle of the 2008 and 2009 Sutherland Cup champions. The Vipers took an early 3-games-to-none lead in the series. Brantford took Game 4. LaSalle played Game 5 at home and took it in double overtime on a goal by DJ Turner.

Season-by-Season Results

The Tecumseh Chiefs won the 2008 Sutherland Cup

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	P	Results	Playoffs
1970-71	40	23	13	4	-	296	192	50	3rd GLJHL
1971-72	36	19	12	5	-	176	130	43	3rd GLJHL
1972-73	42	34	6	2	-	349	141	70	1st GLJHL
1973-74	43	31	8	4	-	322	132	66	2nd GLJHL
1974-75	40	17	20	3	-	157	193	37	5th WOJHL
1975-76	38	15	16	7	-	206	221	37	4th WOJHL
1976-77	40	15	16	9	-	189	178	39	5th WOJHL
1977-78	40	30	6	4	-	260	126	64	1st WOJHL
1978-79	42	31	7	4	-	314	172	66	1st WOJHL	Won League
1979-80	41	30	7	4	-	276	151	64	1st WOJHL	Won League
1980-81	42	26	16	0	-	238	176	52	4th WOJHL
1981-82	42	25	13	4	-	252	186	54	2nd WOJHL
1982-83	42	17	20	5	-	190	222	39	5th WOJHL
1983-84	48	24	18	6	-	257	195	54	4th WOJHL
1984-85	48	13	30	5	-	196	246	31	6th WOJHL
1985-86	42	9	30	3	-	185	287	21	7th WOJHL
1986-87	42	6	33	3	-	187	291	15	8th WOJHL
1987-88	42	20	15	6	1	192	200	47	4th WOJHL
1988-89	42	24	13	2	3	214	186	53	4th WOJHL
1989-90	39	21	17	0	1	197	182	43	3rd WOJHL
1990-91	48	34	11	3	0	266	164	71	1st WOJHL
1991-92	50	33	16	1	0	279	213	67	1st WOJHL West
1992-93	52	35	13	3	1	-	-	74	2nd WOJHL West
1993-94	50	14	34	2	0	252	352	30	5th WOJHL West
1994-95	52	5	43	0	4	169	328	14	5th WOJHL West
1995-96	52	27	21	3	1	247	235	58	2nd WOJHL West
1996-97	52	31	16	3	2	256	221	67	2nd WOJHL West
1997-98	52	19	27	3	3	168	254	44	4th WOJHL West
1998-99	52	11	35	0	6	144	256	28	5th WOJHL West
1999-00	54	25	25	0	4	182	210	54	6th GOHL
2000-01	54	12	40	0	2	165	314	26	9th GOHL
2001-02	54	18	32	2	2	163	236	40	8th WOJHL
2002-03	48	10	36	1	1	121	261	22	9th WOJHL
2003-04	48	20	23	1	4	161	197	45	7th WOJHL
2004-05	48	22	23	2	1	175	179	47	7th WOJHL
2005-06	48	24	20	2	2	164	171	52	5th WOJHL
2006-07	48	27	17	-	4	223	161	58	4th WOJHL	Lost Quarter-final
2007-08	48	34	12	-	2	235	128	70	2nd GOJHL	Won League
2008-09	52	21	26	-	5	186	197	47	18th GOJHL

Sutherland Cup Appearances

1980: Belleville Bobcats defeated Windsor Bulldogs 4-games-to-none

2008: Tecumseh Chiefs defeated Elmira Sugar Kings 4-games-to-none

2010: LaSalle Vipers defeated Brantford Eagles 4-games-to-1

2015: Caledonia Corvairs defeated LaSalle Vipers 4-games-to-2

Notable alumni

• Russ Adam
• Ted Bulley
• Tie Domi
• Murray Eaves
• David Gagnon
• Rick Heinz
• Dan Jancevski
• Ed Jovanovski
• Tim Kerr
• Richard Kromm
• Mike Natyshak
• Joel Quenneville
• D. J. Smith
• Kyle Wellwood
• Derek Wilkinson
• Mickey Renaud
• Stubby Clapp

External links

• Vipers Webpage